Another afternoon review? My apologies – time has run away from me a little, I have a number of reviews I need to catch up with, and it’s taken me far longer than it should have done to share my review of The Secrets of Harbour House, the latest wonderful book by Liz Fenwick: published by HQ on 17th July, it’s now available as an e-book, in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading copy, provided via netgalley.
I have no idea why I’ve failed to read every book Liz has ever written – she’s the most fantastic storyteller. Every single one of her books is on my kindle, but the first I read was The Path to the Sea – which had such a profound emotional impact that I felt an immense sense of loss when I finally set it aside (you’ll find my review here – and it featured in my Books of the Year list in 2019). The River Between Us was equally enthralling – moving effortlessly between present and past, fascinating with its flawed and complex characters, and the forbidden and impossible love entirely broke my heart (you’ll find my review here). And I also really enjoyed Delivering Christmas, the novella that picked up Theo’s story – you’ll find my review here. I still sadly haven’t managed to fit in her last book, The Secret Shore, but I’ve certainly noticed all the wonderful reviews – it’s on my reading list when I’m on my forthcoming extended break (I’ll share more about my plans nearer the time…).
But enough – let’s take a closer look at her latest…
When Kerensa is sent by her father’s auction house to catalogue a neglected house overlooking the sea in Newlyn, Cornwall, it’s a welcome escape. Once the home of two female artists, Harbour House is a treasure trove, but one painting in particular catches Kerensa’s eye – a hypnotically sensual portrait of a beautiful young woman which dominates the hallway.
Captivated and intrigued, Kerensa finds herself piecing together the enigma of Bathsheba Kernow, a fiercely talented young artist who left St Ives almost a hundred years before, eager to escape a society that wouldn’t understand her, and her sweeping journey from the underbelly of Paris to the heady luxury of Venice, where a chance encounter would change her life for ever, drawing her into the most dangerous and forbidden of love affairs.
For Kerensa, still reeling with a grief of her own and facing an uncertain future in love, Harbour House will have secrets that will change her life too, and in ways she could never have imagined…
Having had a particularly difficult time before leaving her job at the family auction house in Cornwall, Kerensa has reluctantly returned to tie up the many loose ends after the death of her father. While attempting to get her head around the increasingly complicated financial situation – obstructed at every turn by her uncle, and while wrestling with her own grief and concerns about her mother – she has issues with her long-term partner Paul, his constant need for contact and less than comfortable interventions making life even more difficult. But she also takes on a commission to catalogue the estate of two elderly women – Sheba and Vivian, both artists – who recently died at their home in Harbour House. Intrigued by the stunning portrait of a beautiful woman that dominates the hallway, she’s driven to try to uncover the women’s story.
In parallel, Sheba’s enthralling and emotional story is gradually uncovered – her encounter with Katherine and her husband Simon while travelling to Venice, both to find artistic inspiration and to escape criticism of her chosen lifestyle, and the way their lives become increasingly entwined. Forbidden love – whatever the reason – is something the author always handles so superbly, and Sheba’s obsession with troubled Katherine becomes desperately painful but interspersed with moments of the most exquisite joy. It’s the 1930s, and the historical setting is wonderfully captured – the constraints on women’s lives, attitudes to sexuality when it deviates from the norm, the backdrop of the rise of fascism, and a society in a heightened state of ferment. The descriptions of the physical settings are superb too – Harbour House beautifully drawn, hiding its many secrets, and the maze of back alleys in Venice leading to unexpected friendships and new discoveries.
Sheba’s story is laced with surprises, and has a particular emotional intensity – you feel her passion, her every experience, always in complete sympathy with her impossible situation. The mystery in the present day is intriguing – a touch lighter perhaps, with its initial focus on Kerensa’s own fragility and relationship issues, although her discoveries add considerable complications – but the past and present day stories are beautifully wrapped around each other, both with their wholly unexpected twists and turns. The pacing throughout is simply perfect – and the stories are told from both women’s perspectives, in the first person, which only increases the degree of emotional engagement.
This is dual time writing at its very best, with an ease about every transition – both narratives are strong, and I was never reluctant to move from one timeline to the other. There are clear parallels between the stories – the primary male characters in both are equally well drawn, and certainly almost as odious as each other – and the way they converge towards the book’s end is quite perfectly handled. And there are layers of deeply buried secrets to be uncovered, which make for a particularly compelling read. I also very much liked the depth of detail – wholly accessible – about the art world and the operations of present day auction houses, quite fascinating and so impeccably researched and brought to life.
But it was the wonderful storytelling and that depth of emotion that turned a book I enjoyed into a book I really loved, filled with moments that deeply moved me and will long linger in the memory – totally captivating. This will, without question, be one of my books of the year.
About the author
Novelist, slave to two cats and dreamer turned doer….
Award winning author of The Cornish House, A Cornish Affair, A Cornish Stranger, Under A Cornish Sky, The Returning Tide, One Cornish Summer, The Path to the Sea, The River Between Us, The Secret Shore and the novellas A Cornish Christmas Carol and Delivering Christmas. She lives in Cornwall with her husband and spends her time wrangling two mad cats, plot walking, reading and procrastinating on social media.
The paperback of The Secrets of Harbour House was published on 17 July 2025 and she’s writing her next novel.
Her books are available in Dutch, Germany, Portuguese, French, Estonia, Norwegian, Danish, Turkish, Swedish, Latvian, Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Italian and Finnish.
Fantastic review Anne. I just finished yesterday, still to write my review. It’s definitely one of my books of the year too!